What we’re about
Welcome, people 50 and over who live in the Blacksburg, Virginia area, the New River Valley of Virginia, the Roanoke area, and nearby!
We are a social group for the over-50 crowd who would like to meet for good conversation over drinks, food, and at local events. We hope to promote connections and social opportunities and basically just have a good time with great conversation.
I was delighted to become the volunteer organizer of this group in April, 2024. I've organized events through Meetup since July, 2021. For our group's size and the features we use, the latest fee to use Meetup is about $350 per year.
Paying the fee is worth it to me. Why? I deeply value belonging to a community. What builds community? The same things that build any relationship: a shared vision, good intentions, curiosity, clear communication, and sharing of feelings, thoughts, and experiences.
Perhaps this is guidance we can follow. Please help me!
"The real process of, say, building a friendship or creating a community involves performing a series of small, concrete actions well: being curious about other people; disagreeing without poisoning relationships; revealing vulnerability at an appropriate pace; being a good listener; knowing how to ask for and offer forgiveness; knowing how to host a gathering where everyone feels embraced; knowing how to see things from another’s point of view.”
- David Brooks, The New York Times, October 19, 2023
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/opinion/social-skills-connection.html
We take turns introducing ourselves with what we've become aware of recently and observed about ourselves or life. I prepare one or two questions in advance and we then take turns answering those. People are welcome to answer or not, their choice, to share something of more interest to them, or to bring their own questions to ask. By this time, people have all kinds of ideas they want to share and we engage in open discussion.
If this sounds like a fit for you, we look forward to seeing you at the next gathering! We welcome your participation and enthusiasm!
We're grateful to Deni for having founded this group in 2021 and for Barb A. for serving as the previous organizer.
